basis of record van der Land, J. (2001). Tardigrada, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 236 (look up in IMIS) [details]

Adriatic SeaItalian part of the Adriatic Sea [details]Alboran SeaMoroccan part of the Alboran Sea [details]Caribbean SeaGuadeloupe & Martinique part of the Caribbean Sea [details]Coral SeaAustralian part of the Coral Sea [details]Coral Sea [details]Ionian SeaItalian part of the Ionian Sea [details]North Atlantic OceanDominican Republic part of the North Atlantic Ocean [details]Haitian part of the North Atlantic Ocean [details]Red SeaEgyptian part of the Red Sea [details]Tasman SeaAustralian part of the Tasman Sea [details]Tyrrhenian SeaItalian part of the Tyrrhenian Sea [details]

Distribution Styraconyx craticulus belongs to the sargassi group and has been mainly reported from tropical and
subtropical regions (see Kristensen & Higgins 1984a); however, it has also been found in the southern regions
of the temperate zone. Primarily an intertidal species, it has also been reported from subtidal localities in the
Mediterranean region. Reports include a range of substrate types, e.g. sand and algae in the Mediterranean and
Caribbean regions, and algae on barnacles in the Australian regions (see Kristensen & Higgins 1984a). Such
wide geographic distribution and habitats may suggest that specimens from different regions belong to
genetically different but morphologically similar taxa. For example, there has previously been some confusion
in the distinction between the genera Bathyechiniscus and Styraconyx. These two genera were partially
synonymised by Pollock (1983), but later the confusion was explained by Kristensen & Higgins (1984a) and
now the two genera, Bathyechiniscus and Styraconyx, although closely related are clearly separate taxa (for a
more detailed discussion see Kristensen & Higgins 1984a). Moreover, Kristensen & Higgins (1984a) divided
species from the genus Styraconyx into two different groups, sargassi and hallasi, based on morphology of
claw hooks. [details]